Kirigakure's Response

"Lord Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura requests an audience!"

"Let him in."

A baby-faced youth with green hair and purple eyes pushed open the door, then respectfully bowed to the Third Mizukage.

"Yagura, take a look at this first."

The Third Mizukage tossed the scroll in his hand over.

"Yes, Lord Mizukage."

Yagura caught the scroll, first greeting Araki and the other two with his eyes before opening it and reading through it.

"You three may leave first."

The Third Mizukage waved at them, indicating that what came next was beyond their rank to know.

"Yes!"

After the three left, only the Third Mizukage and Karatachi Yagura remained in the office.

As Yagura read on, the gentle smile on his face gradually vanished, and his entire body began to radiate a grim, murderous aura.

"Lord Mizukage, does Konoha have designs on us?"

Yagura raised his head, and blood seemed to flow through his purplish-red eyes.

"It is still unclear, but we cannot let down our guard."

The Third Mizukage coughed twice.

"Then you summoned me here in order to..."

"What do you think?"

Faced with the Mizukage's question, Karatachi Yagura thought for a moment before saying,

"Perhaps you could question Konoha in your capacity as Mizukage and demand an explanation from them?"

"An explanation?"

The Third Mizukage gave a disdainful snort.

"What if they insist that we simply mistook the person?"

"They would not go that far, would they? The Hokage is still an important figure, and Orochimaru is no nobody. Would they really be so shameless?"

"Hmph. Important figures... You have never truly experienced the crucible of war, so you do not understand that for a country and a village, interests are what matter most. As for dignity, they praise it when they need it, and toss it into the trash when they do not."

A shrewd glint flashed in the Third Mizukage's eyes.

"Then are we just supposed to let this go? Or should I simply lead a team into the Land of Fire and retaliate against them?"

"Yagura, you are still too young."

The Third Mizukage shook his head.

"Letting it go is out of the question. If Kirigakure does not strike back forcefully, Konoha will think us weak and easy to bully. They will only become more brazen in the future. They might even set up their laboratory directly inside our village.

"But direct retaliation in secret is also inadvisable. If we retaliate privately, we would be handing Konoha an excuse to openly attack Kirigakure. Though I do not wish to admit it, we cannot contend with Konoha by ourselves."

Karatachi Yagura was not truly foolish. He simply lacked experience with the shamelessness of politicians. Since the Third Mizukage had put it so plainly, he naturally understood the implication.

"So, we need an ally?"

"Correct! Konoha may be strong, but if they have to face two enemies at once, they will have to think carefully."

The Third Mizukage continued testing him. "Then who do you think should be our first choice?"

"Hmm... Kumogakure?"

After a brief moment of thought, Yagura gave his answer.

"Tell me your reasons."

"First, Konoha is developing amphibious soldiers this time. Only we and Kumogakure possess long coastlines, so this poses the greatest threat to our two villages.

"Second, Kumogakure has always been ruled by its militant faction. If it truly comes to war with Konoha, Kumogakure will most likely not back down. That way, we will not be left isolated and alone."

Karatachi Yagura counted on his fingers as he spoke with clear logic.

"Finally, Iwagakure bears a grudge against us, while Sunagakure is too poor to sustain a large-scale war. Kumogakure is also the closest to us, making communication more convenient."

"Very good!"

The Third Mizukage nodded.

"Therefore, I want to send you to Kumogakure to establish contact. Are you willing?"

"Of course!"

"Good. This counts as an S-rank mission. Choose two jonin to accompany you, and do not disgrace Kirigakure's name!"

"Yes, Lord Mizukage!"

After Araki and the other two were sent out by the Mizukage, they did not hurry to leave the Mizukage Building. Instead, they turned toward the Logistics Department's ninjutsu exchange office and began selecting the ninjutsu they wanted from the catalog.

At that moment, Yagura walked over, patted Zabuza on the shoulder, and said,

"Well done!"

Kisame grinned, Araki smiled, and Zabuza's little face turned red with excitement.

Although Karatachi Yagura was not much older than them by age, during the golden period between ten and twenty, when ninja rapidly improved their strength, even a difference of one or two years could mean a world of difference in ability.

For example, Araki and Zabuza, both around ten, had only been genin for less than a year, while Kisame, who was three years older than them, was nearly a jonin. Yet Yagura, who was only slightly older than Kisame, was already among Kirigakure's elite jonin. It was said that he had even been nominated to become the jonin commander.

To borrow a saying from the world of Go: if one had not become a jonin by eighteen, there was no hope for the rest of one's life!

Of course, this referred to strength, not ninja rank.

The description was not entirely accurate, but that was roughly what it meant.

As a ninja's body gradually matured and their learning ability reached its peak, their strength grew extremely quickly.

After all, chakra was not like internal energy, which could be accumulated endlessly. The amount of chakra one possessed was directly tied to physical condition. Once a person grew old and frail, their chakra would not increase; instead, it would become less than before.

So, if one failed to seize this golden period, it meant that one's talent was merely average. Trying to make further breakthroughs later on would truly be unimaginably difficult.

"I came to find the three of you because you discovered this matter. I am now leading a delegation to the Land of Lightning and need people to assist me. Are you willing to come?"

Yagura briefly explained his mission before extending an invitation to Kisame Squad.

"We can go too? But did you not say you were bringing jonin?"

Zabuza was initially excited, but then became puzzled.

"Is Kisame not a special jonin?"

Karatachi Yagura smiled faintly.

"A special jonin is still a jonin, and I trust Kisame's strength. As for you two, you will naturally be useful as well."

"Then of course we are going!"

Zabuza was the first to agree.

"Since Lord Yagura trusts us, we naturally have no objections."

Kisame nodded as well.

"It would not be bad to see Kumogakure's swordsmanship."

Araki remained in agreement with his teammates.

"Good! We are going to Kumogakure this time to discuss an alliance, but the Land of Lightning is steeped in a martial culture. You will inevitably encounter challenges. When that happens, fight without restraint. As long as no one dies, I will take responsibility for it!"

Karatachi Yagura's words carried immense confidence.

As Kirigakure's famed young genius, even the leading figure among the younger generation of ninja, Karatachi Yagura was no weakling.

Moreover, in this period before the Third Shinobi World War, Kirigakure was enjoying unprecedented prosperity.

Though the Bloody Mist Policy was widely criticized, the Third Mizukage was still rational. He was not like the Fourth Mizukage of the future, who would be controlled by Obito and become so bloody and cruel that he mutilated his own village.

Thus, although this policy caused Kirigakure's ninja to lack a sense of unity and comradeship, the appropriate amount of bloodshed also produced many outstanding civilian ninja. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were representative of this. Aside from the Hozuki Clan, which still wielded the [Twin Blades: Hiramekarei], the wielders of the other six ninja swords all came from civilian or small-clan backgrounds.

In other respects, the three great bloodline and secret technique clans—the Hozuki, Yuki, and Kaguya—still remained. The Three-Tails and Six-Tails Jinchuriki also stayed safely within the village.

Therefore, judging purely by what was on paper, it was no exaggeration to say that in terms of high-end combat power alone, Kirigakure feared no one, not even Konoha!

And looking at the next generation, a large group of young geniuses—Kisame Hoshigaki, Zabuza Momochi, Hozuki Mangetsu, Araki, and others—were rapidly growing stronger. The village's succession was well secured.

At this time, Kirigakure truly had no need for excessive caution.

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